


dream so big and loud

by likebrightness



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, technically post-college at this point but whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 00:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7662703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likebrightness/pseuds/likebrightness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven never should have planned to do this at night. Now she has the entire day to freak out.</p><p>It's not like she doesn't know Abby is going to say yes; they've talked about it. They almost did it before buying the house last year—it would've been easier, but maybe they both had a little romantic in them, didn't want their story to be <i>we got married to get a mortgage.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	dream so big and loud

**Author's Note:**

> because @thisismylifecollage is wonderful and fantastic and amazing, she told me about fanart she wanted to create for [college au](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3937999). she gave me so many feelings, I wrote the scene to go with it. the a m a z i n g art is [here](http://dreamersdeservebetter.tumblr.com/post/148374229152/fan-art-inspired-by-likebrightness-s-college-au). ~~you don’t technically have to have read college au to enjoy this, but you’ll get more feels if you have.~~

Raven never should have planned to do this at night. Now she has the entire day to freak out.

It's not like she doesn't know Abby is going to say yes; they've talked about it. They almost did it before buying the house last year—it would've been easier, but maybe they both had a little romantic in them, didn't want their story to be _we got married to get a mortgage._

 _It's not that I don't want to_ , Abby had said, banishing the tiny bit of doubt in Raven's chest.

_Yeah? You want to make an honest woman out of me?_

_Impossible,_ Abby said.

Later that night, _I'm yours, you know? Forever._

_Me too._

So she's going to say yes. But what if Raven's brace locks up when she goes to one knee? What if she falls off the damn dock, or drops the ring in the water? What if the timing with the fireworks is off? She has the entire day to fret, and Abby doesn't understand why she's being so weird, and ugh, she should have never planned to do this at night.

Abby takes a shower before dinner. The rest of the crew is set to arrive for their annual Fourth of July weekend later tonight—with a short detour only Clarke and Raven know about. Raven didn't need Clarke's permission, but she wanted her blessing; she's the only other person who knows what's happening tonight. Octavia's gonna be pissed she was out of the loop, but Raven figures she'll be too happy for them to be much trouble.

So Abby takes a shower and Raven gets dressed and puts a picnic basket together. She’s ready, is drumming her fingers against the kitchen counter when Abby comes in, towel drying her hair.

“Babe!” Abby laughs. “You’re all dressed up!”

Raven shrugs. She’s got a button down, sleeves rolled up, and a loose tie. “We’re going on a picnic.”

“You’re all dressed up for a picnic?” Abby’s smiling in this gentle way that Raven knows means she’s absolutely charmed, even if she doesn’t really understand what’s going on. “Should I get dressed up?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Raven says, reaching for her. “You look amazing, as always.”

Abby laughs and lets Raven kiss her.

She does look amazing, just in skinny jeans and a sleeveless shirt. Raven’s pretty sure she could wear a paper bag and look perfect, especially tonight. Raven has so much love in her heart tonight she almost proposes right there. The ring burns hot in her pocket.

“I can’t believe you made me a picnic,” Abby says. “What’s in there?”

She reaches to open the basket but Raven catches her hands.

“You’ll find out when we go to our picnic spot.”

Abby beams and kisses her again. “I love you, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go,” Raven says, rolling her eyes against the way her mouth splits open in a grin.

-

“Babe.”

That’s all Abby says at first. Raven thinks it’s a good thing.

She decorated the dock earlier in the day. They had christened the bed almost as soon as they’d arrived—as they always do when they come to the lake house—and she’d feigned exhaustion afterward to get out of going to the grocery store with Abby. As soon as Abby’s car disappeared, Raven started gathering supplies.

Each post of the dock is wrapped in white fairy lights. The waterproof kind was expensive, but it’s worth it, the whole dock twinkling. A red and white checked picnic blanket covers the end of the dock; the day was still, luckily, no wind to blow the blanket astray even though Raven only secured it with a few stones in each corner.

“It’s beautiful,” Abby says.

Raven is bad at taking compliments. She presses her hand gently against Abby’s lower back. “C’mon, I’m starving.”

Dinner is hard bread and soft cheese, some fruits and vegetables fresh from the farmers’ market on their way up. Raven drops strawberries into champagne glasses.

“This is so fancy,” Abby says.

“We’re going to eat hot dogs and potato chips for the rest of the weekend, probably. Figured we should start with something special,” Raven says. “Not that there’s anything wrong with hot dogs and potato chips, especially on the Fourth, but, you know.”

So she’s babbling a little. It’s fine. Abby hasn’t stopped smiling, and Raven wonders if she’s figured out what’s happening. But Raven doesn’t do anything else to make the dinner special. She doesn’t dive in right away to how much she loves Abby or anything. When Abby raises her champagne glass to toast, Raven says, “To freedom?” and Abby rolls her eyes.

They eat and drink champagne and dusk sets in around them. They dangle their bare feet into the water below. A breeze blows over the lake. When Abby shivers, Raven rolls her eyes and pulls her old red jacket out of the bottom of the picnic basket. Over the past five years, Raven has learned Abby _never_ brings a coat when she should. Abby’s sheepish when Raven drapes the coat over her shoulders.

“Maybe we should head in, anyway,” Abby says. “Everyone else is going to be here soon.”

“Maybe we should,” Raven says, and makes no move to get up.

When they get up is when she actually has to do this, no going back. She’s planned this for months, and she knows Abby’s going to say yes, and she’s still _terrified_. So she sits a while longer, her hand curled softly inside of Abby’s. She looks at the stars and traces constellations against Abby’s palm. She fiddles with her rocketship necklace. Her phone is next to the ring box in her pocket, text message ready to send to Clarke to light the fuse. She’s timed the proposal so the fireworks should explode when she’s done, should explode when Abby says yes, but Raven has already forgotten every single word she practiced.

Her stomach flip flops, and she finally says, “Okay. Okay, let’s go.”

Abby gets up, turns her back to gather things into the picnic basket, and Raven gets onto one knee. She presses send on her text message, pulls out the ring, and swallows. She means to clear her throat, or something, to get Abby’s attention, but she’s not sure she can breathe.

Abby turns around.

She gasps, and puts her hands to her mouth, and her eyes go wet immediately. The picnic basket is half filled, their messy plates still on the blanket between them. Raven swallows again. She can suddenly talk.

“I know we’ve already said forever. I know a piece of paper doesn’t matter. I know you’re mine and I’m yours, no matter what.” This is not what she was planning to say but it’s what comes out. “But I also know that the thought of calling you my wife makes me so happy it’s ridiculous. The thought of me being your wife—” Fuck, she’s totally going to cry. “I’ll be yours whether you say yes or not, but I really hope you say yes. Abby—babe—will you marry me?”

Raven took just a moment too long; before Abby can reply, the fireworks launch into the air across the lake. Two pops, and Raven doesn’t look away from Abby’s face, from the way the light falls across it, from the way she beams as she laughs.

“ _Yes_ , Raven,” she says. “God, of course, yes. Yes yes yes.”

Raven can’t get up quickly enough for Abby, who drops to the dock beside her. She doesn’t even look at the ring, just grabs Raven’s face with both hands and kisses her. Both of their cheeks are wet.

“I love you,” Abby says, fierce.

“I love you,” Raven says. “I love you.”

The ring fits—Raven did her homework. It’s not a traditional engagement ring: asymmetrical, five stones in ascending size, though none are particularly large. Abby saw it when they were window shopping before Christmas. She’s not much of a jewelry person, but she gushed over it.

“It’s from that shop—I can’t believe you remembered,” Abby says, admiring the way it looks on her finger.

“I didn’t remember, Abby,” Raven says. “I bought it the next day.”

That sets off another round of kisses and tears.

“The fireworks?” Abby asks.

“Clarke.”

As if on cue, the headlights of two cars splash over the dock as they pull up to the house.

“Does everyone know?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they did at this point,” Raven says. “But only Clarke knew beforehand. I wanted you to know before everyone else did.”

Abby kisses her. “Let’s go celebrate with them.”

They finish packing up the picnic supplies and head back for the house, toward the voices of the others now arrived. Abby laces their fingers together. Raven squeezes, feels the ring dig into her skin.

“Raven!” It’s Octavia who notices them first, her voice snapping. “Were those fireworks for what I think they were for? Did you forget to tell me something?”

Raven chuckles.

“Don’t talk to my fiancée like that,” Abby calls, to a chorus of cheers.

Octavia gets to them first, barely pulling up from her full speed run so she doesn’t tackle Raven when she hits her. Octavia hugs her, then Abby. Abby keeps her fingers interlaced with Raven’s.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me, oh my god, I’m so happy for you guys, fuck, this is so great,” Octavia says all of it at once.

Clarke pushes her out of the way, beaming. “Did I do the fireworks right?”

“Perfect,” Abby says before Raven can respond, and finally lets go of Raven’s hand to hug her daughter.

Raven hugs her next; they hold on so tight and so long and Raven could not be happier.

Lexa, Anya, Lincoln, and Bellamy offer their congratulations, too, before they all make their way into the house. It’s late, but everyone is loud, chatty. Bellamy makes a joke about a mother-daughter double wedding and Lexa almost chokes. Octavia dives headfirst into planning, asking about what season and what colors and what kind of cake without ever waiting for a response. Anya checks out the ring, lets out a low whistle of appreciation that makes Abby blush.

Raven sips a glass of champagne from the second bottle they’ve opened and holds Abby’s hand. Abby beams at her. Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

Clarke, sitting next to her, bumps their shoulders together. “If you’re going to stare at her like that, you might as well just kiss her.”

It’s been half a decade, almost to the day, since the first time she said that. Raven thinks about how lucky she’s been over the past five years, thinks of how lucky she is right now, to have this for the rest of her life. She does what she did the first time Clarke said it, and kisses Abby.


End file.
